Chapter 3 of Diligent Dick is here in full — 69 sentences across 14 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter III
Chapter 3 of Diligent Dick is here in full — 69 sentences across 14 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
DICK IN TROUBLE. MANY of the children in Annesley were in the habit of going to school barefoot through the warm weather. Dick had often urged his mother to let him go without shoes. This she had decidedly refused. The second week in September was extremely warm.
Chapter 3 of Diligent Dick is here in full — 69 sentences across 14 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/13 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5
These definitions explain words found in the current reading and keep every example grounded in its original sentence.
Oxford-style entry order: headword, part of speech, US IPA, concise definition, contextual example, and audio.
without shoes
From this reading “MANY of the children in Annesley were in the habit of going to school barefoot through the warm weather.”
without question and beyond doubt
From this reading “This she had decidedly refused.”
to a high degree or extent; favorably or with much respect
From this reading “The second week in September was extremely warm.”
an established custom
From this reading “MANY of the children in Annesley were in the habit of going to school barefoot through the warm weather.”
past form of “refuse” — show unwillingness towards
From this reading “This she had decidedly refused.”
the month following August and preceding October
From this reading “The second week in September was extremely warm.”
a particular situation
From this reading “Dick had often urged his mother to let him go without shoes.”
past form of “urge” — force or impel in an indicated direction
From this reading “Dick had often urged his mother to let him go without shoes.”
English keeps certain words together, and knowing the pair is worth more than knowing each word alone. Every partnership below was counted across our whole published library, and earns its place by appearing far more often than two unrelated words of the same frequency would.
Shown as this reading writes them, with the form the library counts, what kind of pairing it is, and how often it occurs.
In this reading “MANY of the children in Annesley were in the habit of going to school barefoot through the warm weather.”
In this reading “MANY of the children in Annesley were in the habit of going to school barefoot through the warm weather.”
Every word in these five lines is listed here, and every one of them can be played on its own.
Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading MANY of the children in Annesley were in the habit of going to school barefoot through the warm weather.
without shoes
From this reading MANY of the children in Annesley were in the habit of going to school barefoot through the warm weather.
plural of “child” — a young person of either sex
From this reading MANY of the children in Annesley were in the habit of going to school barefoot through the warm weather.
without question and beyond doubt
From this reading This she had decidedly refused.
someone who is a detective
From this reading DICK IN TROUBLE.
to a high degree or extent; favorably or with much respect
From this reading The second week in September was extremely warm.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading Dick had often urged his mother to let him go without shoes.
the act of departing
From this reading MANY of the children in Annesley were in the habit of going to school barefoot through the warm weather.
an established custom
From this reading MANY of the children in Annesley were in the habit of going to school barefoot through the warm weather.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Dick had often urged his mother to let him go without shoes.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Dick had often urged his mother to let him go without shoes.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Dick had often urged his mother to let him go without shoes.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading DICK IN TROUBLE.
used to make a suggestion or a command including the speaker
From this reading Dick had often urged his mother to let him go without shoes.
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “as” or “too” or “so” or “that”; amounting to a large but indefinite number
From this reading MANY of the children in Annesley were in the habit of going to school barefoot through the warm weather.
a woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother)
From this reading Dick had often urged his mother to let him go without shoes.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading MANY of the children in Annesley were in the habit of going to school barefoot through the warm weather.
many times at short intervals
From this reading Dick had often urged his mother to let him go without shoes.
past form of “refuse” — show unwillingness towards
From this reading This she had decidedly refused.
an educational institution
From this reading MANY of the children in Annesley were in the habit of going to school barefoot through the warm weather.
1/60 of a minute; the basic unit of time adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites
From this reading The second week in September was extremely warm.
the month following August and preceding October
From this reading The second week in September was extremely warm.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading This she had decidedly refused.
a particular situation
From this reading Dick had often urged his mother to let him go without shoes.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading MANY of the children in Annesley were in the habit of going to school barefoot through the warm weather.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading This she had decidedly refused.
from one end or side of something to the other
From this reading MANY of the children in Annesley were in the habit of going to school barefoot through the warm weather.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading MANY of the children in Annesley were in the habit of going to school barefoot through the warm weather.
a source of difficulty
From this reading DICK IN TROUBLE.
past form of “urge” — force or impel in an indicated direction
From this reading Dick had often urged his mother to let him go without shoes.
having or producing a comfortable and agreeable degree of heat or imparting or maintaining heat
From this reading MANY of the children in Annesley were in the habit of going to school barefoot through the warm weather.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The second week in September was extremely warm.
the atmospheric conditions that comprise the state of the atmosphere in terms of temperature and wind and clouds and precipitation
From this reading MANY of the children in Annesley were in the habit of going to school barefoot through the warm weather.
any period of seven consecutive days
From this reading The second week in September was extremely warm.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading MANY of the children in Annesley were in the habit of going to school barefoot through the warm weather.
not having, not using, or not accompanied by
From this reading Dick had often urged his mother to let him go without shoes.
Chapter 3 of Diligent Dick by Madeline Leslie holds 69 sentences, grouped into 14 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the source edition, unabridged, and the chapter records which sentences cover which part of the work so that nothing is dropped. Every word can be tapped for its pronunciation and dictionary entry.
Chapter 3 holds 69 sentences of Diligent Dick, unabridged, divided into 14 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of Diligent Dick by Madeline Leslie exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 69 sentences, grouped into 14 sections of at most 5 sentences so that a reader can take the chapter in steady, finishable pieces. The chapter also stores a coverage record mapping every one of its sentences to a part of the work, which is how the edition demonstrates that no line was dropped.
Work through the 14 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 14 sections in this chapter is short enough to read once, hear once, and then re-read with the vocabulary in view. Tapping a word plays it alone and opens its dictionary entry with IPA, part of speech and meaning, so the reader is never forced to guess a pronunciation from spelling. Working section by section keeps a long chapter from becoming an undifferentiated wall of text, which is the usual reason a reader abandons a work of this period.
Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 3 can be played aloud in United States English.
Audio covers the whole chapter: any sentence can be played, and any single word within it can be played on its own. The voice uses United States English. For a work of this period that matters, because spelling is an unreliable guide to pronunciation for vocabulary that has fallen out of daily use, and a learner who guesses wrong tends to keep the error. Hearing the word in its own sentence, and then alone, settles it.
Common questions about reading Diligent Dick by Madeline Leslie on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 674 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #71493 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #71493, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 56 minutes of reading across 135 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Diligent Dick section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 9 chapters of Diligent Dick to begin.
Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.
Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.
Words and structures a reader meets early in Diligent Dick, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
